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Department of Energy Offers Conditional Commitment for a Loan Guarantee for New Transmission Project to Deliver Renewable Energy to Southwest

October 19, 2010 - 12:00am

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Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $350 million loan guarantee to develop the One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line), the first transmission line project to be offered a conditional commitment by the Loan Programs Office of the Department of Energy. ON Line consists of a new 500 kilovolt (kV) AC transmission line that will run 235 miles from Ely, Nevada to just north of Las Vegas, with a new substation located at the northern end of the line. The project will carry approximately 600 megawatts (MW) of electricity, including renewable energy resources in northern Nevada, and will integrate existing transmission systems in northern and southern Nevada, improving grid reliability and efficiency, and reducing power costs. Jonathan Silver, Executive Director of the Department's Loan Programs Office, made the announcement today at the groundbreaking in Nevada.

"This is another example of the Recovery Act delivering new jobs and advancing our clean energy goals," said Secretary Chu. "This project will help us tap into the enormous clean energy resources in the West - bringing renewable power from where it is produced to where it is used. This is a win for the economy as well as for the environment."

The ON Line project will be the first phase of the Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP) which, when fully completed, will carry approximately 2,000 MW of electricity and enable wind and solar resources in Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada to power the southwest and California markets. The ON Line project is expected to contract about 85 percent of its parts and labor from U.S.-based companies and will create approximately 400 construction jobs.

The Department of Energy, through the Loan Programs Office, has issued loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees to support 16 clean energy projects totaling in approximately $16.5 billion. For more information, please visit the Loan Program Office.